Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (April 4, 1901)
OKLAHOMA OPPORTUNITY. HOMES FOR THOUSANDS IN THE KIOWA , OOMANGHE AND APACHE RESERVATIONS Which are to bo opened for settlement in 1901. THE GREAT ROCK ISLAND ROUTE is the only line running to , through or near the RESERVATIONS. "OKLAHOMA OPPORTUNITY , " A book describing these lands and con dition of entry , SENT FREE. Address , JOHN SEBASTIAN , G , P , &T , A , , CHICAGO , ILL , E , W , THOMPSON , A. G , P , &T.A. , TOPEKA , KAN , THE MORTON PRINTING COMPANY , PRINTERS , PUBLISHERS , STATIONERS. NEBRASKA CITY , NEBRASKA. ( NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE MEMBERS- } CHICAGO STOCK EXCHANGE ( CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE J. F. HARRIS STOCKS BONDS GRAIN COTTON PROVISIONS COFFEE No. i BOARD or TRADE PRIVATE WIRES CHICAGO AN EARLY NEWSPAPER. THE CONSERVATIVE'S friendly corres pondents who have been so kind in fur nishing information regarding the place once called Nebraska Center , will per haps find some gratification in reading a few extracts from an ancient newspaper which several of them have mentioned ; namely : The Huntsman's Echo , pub lished at "Wood River Center , Buffalo county , N. T. , by J. E. Johnson. THE CONSERVATIVE has a file of this journal , running with numerous breaks from No. 7 of Vol. I , Jxme 14 , 1860 , to No. 84 , August 1 , 1801 ; twelve copies in all. The gaps are not all the fault of our file ; though The Huntsman's Echo repre sents that it is published every Thurs day morning , an inspection of dates and serial numbers reveals that often two weeks or more intervened between issues. Especially is there a horrid gap noticeable in the winter months , when immigrants came not. We can do no better , to illustrate the atmosphere of the time and place , than to quote at random : "As we sometime since predicted , our beautiful town site has been rudely trampled upon by those ugly-looking wild beasts , known as buffalo. Nearly every day we see these ugly denizens of this valley , from our office door or window , busily feeding upon the rich grass. " "The high stage of water in Wood river has driven the beavers from their homes , and there are four on the bank in front of our office. " "A gentleman just down from Denver met 6,400 teams in ten days. " Sergeant Breckenridge ( of Fort Kear ney , no doubt ) denies indignantly that he charged an emigrant $10 for pulling him out of the river , as alleged by one Moses F. Shinn. There is evidently something back of this ; probably a ques tion of routes , as to which every paper of those days was always in hot dispute , each championing its own. In tliis case the choice seems to have been whether the emigrant should proceed to a place opposite Fort Kearney and ford the Platte , or cross at about the middle point of Butler county by means of the often-mentioned Shinn's Ferry ; only emigrants out the north side , from Omaha points , being in question of course. Now with Shinn it seems to have been a question of profits , whereas the brave sergeant was , no doubt , urging the ford at the fort from pure philan thropy. The editor takes the soldier's part ; remiiujs his brother Mose how he once deceived him , telling him that the Platte was out of its banks at Kearney ; and further how ho had boasted that he would clear $4,000 out of his ferry that year , in spite of the Devil with a big D. The editor was a Mormon , it is said. Buffalo were very troublesome , smash ing fences and eating the growing corn. "Across the river , it is said , are innumer able multitudes , coming over from the Republican , and many famishing for food or water whilst making for the Platte they are frightened back by emi grants , yet make immediate efforts to gain the water but are again driven back by the report of fire-arms , and many thus perish before they reach water. " Creighton and Kountze had just passed through , laying out the first stretch of the trans-continental telegraph line. "On last of Saturday , a war-party Gheyennes , numbering 80 , made a descent upon the Pawnee village. The attacked party gave the alarm the other party retreated without any ponies , hotly pursued. Major Gilllis , the agent , joined in the chase with n detachment of soldiers just arrived from Fort Kearney. Two of the aggressors were slain , and the remainder pursued for twenty miles. " "Buffalo bothering are again continually ing us coming about , eating our vege tables , bellowing and kicking up a dust generally . " The shooting of Mrs. Her by an Indian belonging to Dogbelly's band , is an item of current news. The poor woman was shot through the body with an arrow while on the way to Denver with her hus band and afterwards died of the wound. U. S. Indian Agent J. L. Gillis adver tises as follows : "A party of Pawnees , who had gone out without my knowledge , came in last night with. 17 mules and 5 horses. The owners will recover the same by proving property and paying for this advertisement. " Late in September the editor has wit nessed a display of Aurora Boreliaa , which he admired very much. "The Sioux & Co. , have again been down on the war-path and had another brush with the Pawnees , in which they lost four men , and several wounded. The Pawnees lost one and four wounded. " This must bo the first settlement of the present Kearney. "Some energetic fellow , wide-awake to the chances of making money , has commenced opening a ranohe at the Kearney crossing , on this side , by building a sod house , Kar- rell , stable &c. " The editor has been watching the playful antelope from his office window "and again a sprightly red fox came up near the enclosure , but cut and ran when towzer came in sight. A week ago three large white wolves hove in sight and played around on the prairie . " Here is another mention of our friend "a devout man named Shinn , Moses , we believe , who leads the children of Mammon across the Platte for a dollar and four bits apiece , keeps fast horses and preaches on Sundays gratis. " "It is reported that the Sioux and Oheyenues are collecting in great num-